1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to auto-detection of a communication mismatch, such as in a networking environment.
2. Related Art
In communication systems, it is often necessary to configure differing devices at remote ends of communication network with matching communication parameters. One common circumstance in which this can be important occurs when two devices are coupled using a LAN (local area network), such as an Ethernet, but are logically located relatively remotely. For example, the two devices might include an end-host and a switch, maybe belonging to either different organizations or different administrative domains within a single organization. A parameter mismatch may occur when the devices treat the communication link as either half-duplex or full-duplex where a first one of the devices treats the communication link as half-duplex, while a second one of the devices will treat the communication link as full-duplex. When devices are configured so that such a duplex mismatch occurs, substantial degradation in communication bandwidth and other performance characteristics often results.
One problem with known systems using Ethernet protocols is that the Ethernet protocol standard does not contain sufficient logic to auto-detect and to resolve such parameter mismatches. In consequence, attempting to determine the cause of, and attempting to correct, performance problems that originate as a result of a protocol mismatch can be quite difficult. This process is generally manual and often involves inspection of the configurations of both communicating devices. Because the communicating devices often belong to either different organizations or different administered domains within a single organization, parameter mismatches, particularly duplex mismatches, can occur quite often. Duplex mismatches can lead to significant loss of time on the part of system administrators, loss of effective communication for a length of time, and a relatively excessive number of calls for technical support.
Accordingly, it would be advantageous to provide a technique for auto-detection of communication mismatches that is not subject to drawbacks of the known art.